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Tuesday, 1 September 2026dailybeirut.com
World
An Iraqi court sentenced Amir Rahim Jabbar Lazim to 15 years in prison under the country’s anti-terrorism law for kidnapping U.S. journalist Shelley Kitelson in Baghdad on March 31.
An Iraqi court has sentenced Amir Rahim Jabbar Lazim to 15 years’ imprisonment under the nation’s anti-terrorism law for the abduction of U.S. journalist Shelley Kitelson. The ruling was issued Sunday by the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad, according to a judicial document circulated by Iraqi media outlets and confirmed to AFP by a judicial source.
Kataib Hezbollah abducted Kitelson in Baghdad on March 31, amid the Middle East war that erupted at the end of February following a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The conflict’s repercussions extended into Iraq, where Iran-aligned armed factions targeted U.S. interests, prompting Washington to respond with deadly airstrikes.
The group released Kitelson on April 7—hours before the United States and Iran announced an agreement on a ceasefire. A senior official from Iraq’s Ministry of Interior told AFP that Iraqi authorities had arrested one of the kidnappers.
A source within Kataib Hezbollah confirmed to AFP that the sentence had been handed down against one of its members. Kitelson, who published a copy of the court document, stated: “I am grateful to the Iraqi judiciary.”
In recent years, numerous activists, researchers, and journalists in Iraq have been killed, targeted for assassination, or kidnapped. However, the frequency of such incidents has declined as Iraq has regained some measure of security stability.
Under mounting U.S. pressure to curb Iranian influence, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi—who assumed office more than three months ago with American backing—has pledged to restrict the arms of Iran-aligned groups designated as terrorist entities by Washington.
The Iraqi government states it has begun receiving weapons from cooperating factions in recent weeks. Meanwhile, dialogue continues with other factions that retain their arms, citing the continued presence of foreign forces in Iraq as justification.
Kataib Hezbollah is among the most influential and closely aligned factions with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is also part of the Iran-led regional “Axis of Resistance” directed against the United States and Israel.
